Brussels Sprouts, Bacon, & Cider- Oh My...

I went out to the kitchen tonight with the intention of making straight up, old school mac 'n cheese. Nothing fancy, just something I could throw together really quickly- I was hoping to have time to paint my nails and let them dry before I went to bed tonight.

Then I got sidetracked by my conscience, admonishing myself for the lack of veggies in my dinner. So I decided to toss in some roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potato. About halfway through cleaning the sprouts, I decided to ditch the potatoes- "Who needs pasta AND potatoes in their casserole?!," my conscience was fairly screaming.

Best decision, ever. Because if I had included the potatoes, I don't think everything else would've unfolded like it did...

Things were going nicely, until I discovered we have no chicken broth- Whenever I make my roux, I normally use about 3/4 broth to 1/4 milk.

What I did have was a giant jug of really, really good cider.

...

Without further ado, I present to you: Macaroni & Cheese with Brussels Sprouts, Apples & Bacon.

Macaroni & Cheese with Brussels Sprouts, Apples, & Bacon
Serves  about 6

1/2 pound of brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups whole wheat medium shell pasta, cooked in salted water
2 tbs. unsalted butter
2 tbs. onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbs. all purpose flour
1 cup super awesome apple cider
1/2- 3/4 cup milk (depending on how thick you want your sauce)
1 cup + 1/8 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup + 1/8 cup extra sharp cheddar
3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 large apple, in 1/2" cubes
2 tbs. panko breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the sprouts in the olive oil in whatever dish you'll bake your casserole in. Let them roast at 400 in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until your desired doneness- I like mine still a little firm but just starting to get browned.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan. Add the onion and garlic- Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions start to become translucent. Add the flour, and mix until it is thoroughly combined into the butter. Add the cider- Mix well into the flour mixture, until it smooths out and begins to thicken. Let it heat until it easily clings to a spoon. Add the milk, mixing well again and let it thicken again. If it gets too thick, add a little more milk. Take it off the heat.

Mix together the pasta, sauce, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 cup cheddar, apples, bacon, and brussels sprouts (I did this in the casserole dish). Even it out in the dish, and top with the remaining cheese and panko.

Bake in a 350 oven for 30- 45 minutes.

*Note: I didn't add any additional spices because there was quite a bit of spice in my cider. If your cider isn't as potent, you might consider adding some cinnamon and nutmeg.

** Also Note: I'm using low fat cheese, thus my excessive browning. We all know that stuff ain't real
cheese.

Reduce

A great article on reducing our waste:

Here's What Else You Can Do Besides Not Buying That Jacket

A Good, Sobering Reminder

The Pizza Good Enough to Break the Silence

I love this pizza with all my heart. We had something kind of similar at a local pizza place once, but as I can't stomach spending $25 on a pizza all the time, I had to take matters into my own hands. Therefore, I present for you:


The Best Pizza of All Time

- Pizza dough (I use whole wheat Il Fornaio found in my deli section)
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved and sliced into 1/4" slices
- About 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. fig preserves (or jam)
- 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 strips of bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
- 4 oz. mozzarella (I prefer cutting little cubes from a block rather than shredded)
- About 2 tbs. cilantro, chopped

Warm up the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Toss in the onion, stir to coat in the oil, season with a bit of salt, and let it cook for a really long time, stirring occasionally. When your onions have a bit of brown color (about 10- 15 minutes in) you can cover your pan with a lid and lower the heat to a medium/ low temp to speed up the process- But even with the lid, let them go about 15 or 20 minutes more. The longer you let them cook, the better they will be- But I can never let it go for more than half an hour or so.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to whatever your dough advises. Stretch it out on a cookie sheet, and prebake it if your instructions call for it.

When your onions are done, add the preserves and crushed red pepper. Stir them in with the onions, just to warm up the preserves. Spread the mixture on your pizza crust. Top the onion mix with bacon, and then cheese. Bake for whatever your dough recommends.

When the pizza comes out, sprinkle the cilantro over the top.

Thank me ;p

Yarn Wreaths!

 So. Yarn wreaths. I've been wanting one.

Even more than just wanting one, I've been wanting to try to make one. I tried once around Halloween, and got frustrated with how long the yarn business was taking, so I gave up (I like the instant gratification sorts of crafts the best, okay?).

But since it looks like we're probably done with snow for the year (I REALLY hope I just cursed Colorado with 5 feet of snow), it seems we need to put the snow people wreath up for the year.

So I'm attempting the yarn wreath again.

I also just might have just made it way more complicated for myself... I went to Micheal's today and got enough felt and yarn for 6 wreaths, plus a straw wreath form. When I got the wreath, I thought it was a little large. When I got home and held it up to the door, it seemed a little large, but not terrible. As I was just looking over the snow people wreath post, I noticed I said that I used an 8" wreath, and now I really want to go and get a smaller wreath, because I loved that size on the door.

Blast.

Anyway... I guess what happens with my wreath is TBD. In the mean time, check out these inspiration wreaths.

Has the word "wreath" ever been used so much in a single blog post, in the history of blogging? 

Yeah, I didn't think so either.

On to the wreaths!!!

 Classic Romance 12" Wreath from ItzFitz, $40

I love the simplicity of this one. ItzFitz has quite a few different styles that I love, but I really like how classy this one looks.

Cute as a Quail Fabric & Feathers Wreath from sweetalyssa, $46

Not really yarn, but I love this take on the style with ribbons and feathers. And I love the wee tiny bird with a feathery cow lick.

Sea of Jewels 8" Wreath from ItzFitz, $30

Another from ItzFitz! I'm a sucker for jewel tones, so this one was right up my alley :)

Crescendo Yarn Wreath from GoodieTrueShoes, $48

Probably my biggest inspiration (and kind of subconsciously- I didn't realize how similar my plans were until I got back home and checked out my inspiration pictures again). Love the light blue green and oranges together (spoiler alert).

Ruffle Book Page Flower Yarn Wreath from TheWhimsicle, $30

Really liked this version, that uses book pages for the flowers... If my wreath weren't going to be potentially exposed to water, I'd totally try something like this.

Confetti Yarn Wreath 10 from AnnaHailey, $39

I like that this one uses the confetti-ish yarn, and that this one also has an assortment of flowers on it... I like the swirly rose-ish flowers the most because they remind me of ranunculus (my favorite flower), but I also like seeing the possible variety.

I know whatever I end up cranking out won't be half as beautiful as these examples, but I'm hoping for the best.

Also, just while I was typing this, I decided to go out and get a smaller wreath today.

So the finished product post might take a little longer than previously expected.

Also, it's entirely possible there might be some sort of giveaway with the larger wreath that I'm 2/3 of the way done wrapping... TBD!!!

More From the Holga

 From Flagstaff Mtn.

An Expansion on a Facebook Update

Things learned this weekend: 

1) Moki & BunBun are tiny little specimens of their species 

 We happened to be in the area of the Boulder Humane Society, and thought we would drop in to see a couple of rabbits that they had listed on their website, just for funsies. Unfortunately, they had decided that morning that the bunnies were a little aggressive, so they wouldn't let us seem them. So we browsed through all the animals, and later on ended up stopping by the Longmont Humane Society.

 The rabbits were MASSIVE. Like, bigger than Milo and Moki. Maybe bigger than Milo and Moki combined. I have never seen such huge house bunnies... Definitely made me feel silly calling BunBun "Big Bunny," because she was most decidely tiny. Huge bunnies... Who knew. 

 And also, less surprisingly, I was also reminded of how tiny Moki Poki is, too... The giant cats weren't as alarming as the giant bunnies, just a reminder that our kitten cat is itty bitty.

They weren't quite this big, though. I wish they had been...

2) Mahi mahi quesadillas are tasty delicious 

 I've been trying to figure out new things to do with fish... I took a mahi mahi fillet, cut it up into 1/2" cubes, dredged it in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, red pepper flake, and chili powder, and then sauteed it in a little oil until it got crispy. It was like really, really good fish stick bits. Awesome in a quesadilla with spinach, black beans, red onion, corn, cilantro, and cheese. YUM.

3) Tiny houses require only 1 day of spring cleaning 

 Sunday we had a bit of an impromptu spring cleaning... Once the vacuum gets broken out, I can't stop. After Christmas we got a new one (this Hoover WindTunnel) and it is amazing. I never thought I would nerd out over a vacuum like I have over this one- There is NOTHING it can't suck up. It is addicting watching it pick up dust. The carpets literary feel cleaner underfoot. Maybe this isn't a huge revelation for a lot of people... But it's huge for me, since apparently I've been buying super crappy vacuums up until this point.

Anyway- We're really close to being done with spring cleaning. We went at it for about half of Sunday, and I'm hoping we can finish it up this week/ this weekend in a few more hours.

 4) It's Kind of a Funny Story is a good movie 

I love when actors known for their comedic stuff do more serious movies (re: Zach Galifianakis). Especially when the movie is done in a kind of quirky way. It's good. You can rent it from a RedBox for a buck. I highly recommend it.

 

(While you're at the RedBox, also get Megamind. It actually made me lol.)

5) Sauve Rosemary Mint shampoo is kind of awesome

 One of the biggest attractions for me at the salon I've finally settled on is that it's an Aveda salon, and therefore uses Aveda products, and therefore makes my hair smell fantastic on haircut day. 

I picked up the Suave Rosemary Mint shampoo because it compared itself to an Aveda product. Since Aveda shampoo is about $11, and Suave is more around $2, I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

While I don't think it smells just like the Aveda product, for $9 less it smells close enough... Plus it makes my hair feel really nice. Win win. 

Yet again. $2. Try it.